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WHERE THERE IS A WRITTEN CONTRACT, AN ACTION FOR UNJUST ENRICHMENT WILL NOT LIE AGAINST THIRD-PARTY NONSIGNATORIES (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that the existence of a contract precludes an action for unjust enrichment brought against a third-party nonsignatory:

Plaintiff’s cause of action for unjust enrichment is barred by the written agreement between plaintiff and defendant condominium sponsor, despite the fact that appellants are nonsignatories to that agreement … . The case law is clear that even where a defendant is a third-party nonsignatory to a contract, there can be no cause of action sounding in quasi-contract where, as here, there is a valid contract in place and the contract covers the subject matter of the dispute … . Board of Mgrs. of the 15 Union Sq. W. Condominium v Azogui, 2023 NY Slip Op 04920, First Dept 10-3-23

Practice Point: The existence of a written contract precludes an action for unjust enrichment against third-party nonsignatories.

 

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THE PARTIES’ STIPULATION REQUIRED PLAINTIFF TO FURNISH PAY STUBS AS A PREREQUISITE FOR HER RECEIVING CHILD SUPPORT; SUPREME COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE HELD THAT INFORMAL TIMESHEETS WERE THE FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF PAY STUBS (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the requirement in the parties’ stipulation that, in order to receive child support, defendant must demonstrate her employment by furnishing pay stubs was not met by furnishing time sheets:

The parties’ stipulation of August 24, 2021, provides in pertinent part that plaintiff will pay defendant $2,000 per month “as a contribution towards [defendant’s] childcare expenses.” Plaintiff’s obligation to make the payment is conditioned upon defendant being “employed by a nonrelative” and upon her periodic furnishing to plaintiff of “paystub[s]” documenting such employment. The stipulation requires defendant to provide plaintiff with her first paystub from a given employer, the first and last paystub of each calendar year, and the paystub covering July 1 of each year. Defendant moved for an order directing plaintiff to make a childcare payment based on her provision of timesheets purporting to document childcare services that she performed for Matthew Kleban. Kleban is the father of two girls, one of whom is a friend of the parties’ daughter.

… [T]he parties, both represented by counsel, entered into a stipulation that expressly conditioned plaintiff’s obligation to make childcare payments upon defendant’s production of “paystub[s]” to document her employment by a nonrelative. The term “paystub” is defined as “a record that is given to an employee with each paycheck and that shows the amount of money earned and the amount that was removed for taxes, insurance costs, etc.” (https://merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paystub); accord Black’s Law Dictionary 1364 [11th ed 2019]). Under this definition, and based upon the circumstances herein, the informal timesheets produced by defendant plainly do not qualify as “paystubs.” In holding that plaintiff’s childcare payment obligation was nonetheless triggered under the stipulation because the timesheets were the “functional equivalent” of paystubs, the motion court impermissibly changed the meaning of the parties’ agreement by adding or excising terms under the guise of construction … . Franklin v Franklin, 2023 NY Slip Op 04925, First De[t 10-3-23

Practice Point: Here the judge’s finding that informal timesheets were the functional equivalent of pay stubs impermissibly changed the meaning of the parties’ stipulation. The stipulation required plaintiff to prove she was employed as a prerequisite for her receipt of child support.

 

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THE EVIDENCE DID NOT SUPPORT THE FINDING RESPONDENT COMMITTED THE FAMILY OFFENSE OF HARASSMENT SECOND DEGREE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing Family Court, determined the evidence did not support the family offense of harassment second degree:

“A petitioner bears the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that respondent committed a family offense” … . To establish that respondent committed acts constituting harassment in the second degree, petitioner was required to establish that respondent engaged in conduct that was intended to harass, annoy or alarm petitioner, that petitioner was alarmed or seriously annoyed by the conduct, and that the conduct served no legitimate purpose (see Penal Law § 240.26 [3]). Here, the evidence presented by petitioner at the hearing consisted primarily of petitioner’s testimony that respondent posted “negative posts and stuff” on social media about him including, in particular, two posts on Facebook about an unnamed “ex” that he believed referred to him, after which respondent blocked him from viewing her posts. We conclude under the circumstances of this case that the evidence presented by petitioner failed to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that respondent engaged in acts constituting harassment in the second degree … . Matter of Geremski v Berardi, 2023 NY Slip Op 04883, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: Here the finding respondent committed the family offense of harassment second degree was not supported by the preponderance of the evidence.

 

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MOTHER WAS PROPERLY FOUND TO HAVE DEFAULTED IN THIS CUSTODY MATTER; MOTHER’S ATTORNEY APPEARED BUT DECLINED TO PARTICIPATE; ALTHOUGH AN ORDER ENTERED UPON DEFAULT CANNOT BE APPEALED, CONTESTED MATTERS DETERMINED BY THE TRIAL COURT, HERE WHETHER MOTHER’S ATTORNEY’S REQUEST FOR AN ADJOURNMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, CAN BE CONSIDERED UPON APPEAL FROM THE ORDER (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department determined Family Court properly found that mother had defaulted in this custody case, despite the appearance of her attorney, who declined to participate. The Fourth Department noted that, although orders issued pursuant to a default are not appealable, contested issues addressed by the court prior to the order can be appealed:

The court, concluding that the mother had adequate warning that she needed to appear visually at the hearing and ample time to ensure that she could so appear, denied the request for an adjournment and determined that it would proceed by inquest. Inasmuch as the mother’s attorney, although present, thereafter declined to participate in the inquest in the mother’s absence and instead elected to stand mute, we conclude that the court properly determined that the mother’s failure to appear in the manner required constituted a default … .

“[N]otwithstanding the prohibition set forth in CPLR 5511 against an appeal from an order or judgment entered upon the default of the appealing party, the appeal from [such an] order [or judgment] brings up for review those ‘matters which were the subject of contest’ before the [trial court]” … . Thus, in this appeal, review is limited to the mother’s contention that the court abused its discretion in denying her attorney’s request for an adjournment … . We reject that contention. Matter of Reardon v Krause, 2023 NY Slip Op 04880, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: Here mother did not appear in the custody case and her attorney appeared but declined to participate. Therefore Family Court properly found mother to be in default.

Practice Point: Although an order entered upon default is not appealable, an appeal from such an order brings up contested matters decided prior to the order. Here the appellate court considered the denial of mother’s attorney’s request for an adjournment.

 

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EQUIVOCAL AND UNSUBSTANTIATED EVIDENCE OF DEFENDANT’S DRUG ABUSE WAS NOT ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY THE 15-POINT DRUG-ABUSE ASSESSMENT UNDER SORA (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing County Court, determined 15 points should not have been assessed against the defendant under SORA for drug abuse. The evidence was too weak:

Here, we conclude that the People failed to prove by the requisite clear and convincing evidence that defendant had a history of substance abuse. Although the case summary presented by the People at the SORA hearing establishes that defendant was convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) of possessing an unknown amount of testosterone and using an anabolic steroid … , which offense occurred nearly one year after the underlying sex offense of sexual abuse of a child … , there is “no evidence that defendant was ever screened for substance abuse issues” and ” ‘only very limited information about his alleged prior history of drug . . . abuse’ ” … . Indeed, the sole information in the record regarding defendant’s purported history of drug abuse is the “conclusory hearsay” statement … of a correctional treatment specialist—here, a licensed marriage and family therapist—who commented in the updated treatment assessment he prepared prior to defendant’s release from incarceration that defendant had “substance abuse problems with steroids pre-confinement” but that confinement had “cleaned . . . up” that problem such that defendant now understood “the repercussions of that type of abuse.” Inasmuch as the only evidence that defendant abused steroids consists of a ” ‘hearsay statement[] that [is] vague, . . . equivocal, and otherwise unsubstantiated,’ ” the People failed to establish by the requisite clear and convincing evidence that defendant had a history of substance abuse … . People v Currington, 2023 NY Slip Op 04874, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: Here the evidence purporting to demonstrate defendant had a history of drug abuse was deemed too weak to support the 15-point drug-abuse assessment under SORA.

 

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THE POLICE OFFICER INJURED IN THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT AND THE CITY SEEKING RECOVERY OF PAYMENTS MADE STEMMING FROM THE OFFICER’S INJURY MUST SHARE THE $100,000 “PER PERSON” INSURANCE-POLICY LIMIT (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the police officer injured in a car accident and the city suing for payments made for the officer’s salary and medical expenses had to share the $100,000 “per person”  policy-limit in the Safeco insurance policy:

… [T]here is a $100,000 policy limit for “each person” sustaining bodily injury. The policy provides that the limit of bodily injury liability for “each person” is the “maximum limit of liability for all damages, including damages for care, loss of services or death, resulting from any one auto accident” for bodily injury not resulting in death of “any one person” (emphasis added). The City here asserted a claim against the tortfeasors pursuant to General Municipal Law § 207-c (6), which creates a cause of action for municipalities for reimbursement of “such sum or sums actually paid as salary or wages and or for medical treatment and hospital care as against any third party against whom the police officer shall have a cause of action for the injury sustained or sickness caused by such third party.” The municipality’s right to recover “is derived from its insured employee’s cause of action in negligence against the person causing such injury,” and the “right to bring the direct action is bottomed on the employee’s cause of action in negligence” … . … [T]he City’s statutory claim and plaintiff’s claim both result from the injuries sustained by plaintiff and are both included in the same $100,000 per person limit of liability in the policy … . Lewczyk v Safeco Ins. Co. of Am., 2023 NY Slip Op 04867, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: Here, pursuant to the unambiguous terms of the insurance policy, the police officer injured in a traffic accident and the city seeking recovery of the related salary and medical-expense payments must share the $100,000 “per person” insurance-policy limit.

 

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A COURT DOES NOT LOSE JURISDICTION OVER SENTENCING A DEFENDANT PURSUANT TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE LAW 390.30 IF MORE THAN A YEAR ELAPSES BETWEEN CONVICTION AND SENTENCING (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined County Court did not lose jurisdiction to sentence defendant because more than a year elapsed between conviction and sentencing:

CPL 390.30 provides in relevant part that, “[i]n any case where the court determines that a defendant is eligible for a sentence of probation, the court, after consultation with the prosecutor and upon the consent of the defendant, may adjourn the sentencing to a specified date and order that the defendant be placed on interim probation supervision. In no event may the sentencing be adjourned for a period exceeding one year from the date the conviction is entered, except that upon good cause shown, the court may, upon the defendant’s consent, extend the period for an additional one year where the defendant has agreed to and is still participating in a substance abuse treatment program in connection with a . . . drug court” … . … [N]othing in CPL 390.30 (6) (a) states that a failure to sentence a defendant within one year of the date of conviction is a jurisdictional defect or that sentencing after that one-year period is prohibited … . People v Bryant, 2023 NY Slip Op 04857, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: CPL 390.30 does not deprive the sentencing court of jurisdiction if more than a year elapses between conviction and sentencing.

 

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HEARSAY STATEMENTS BY A CODEFENDANT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ADMITTED TO SHOW THE STATE OF MIND OF THE INVESTIGATORS QUESTIONING THE DEFENDANT; THE INVESTIGATORS’ STATE OF MIND WAS NOT RELEVANT TO ANY ISSUE IN THE CASE (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined references in a recorded interrogation of defendant to hearsay statements made by a codefendant should not have been admitted to show the state of mind of the investigators. The error was deemed harmless:

” ‘[T]he [Confrontation] Clause . . . does not bar the use of testimonial statements for purposes other than establishing the truth of the matter asserted’ ” … . In opposing the motion, the People argued, and the court agreed, that the codefendant’s statements were admissible for the nonhearsay purpose of showing the state of mind of the investigators, specifically, that the investigators wanted to get defendant to admit to something … . But there was no reason to show the investigators’ state of mind when they were questioning defendant using the codefendant’s statements; their state of mind was simply not relevant to any issue in the case. People v Coley, 2023 NY Slip Op 04855, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: Here the state of mind of the investigators questioning defendant was not relevant to any issue in the case. Therefore the investigators’ hearsay references to statements made by a codefendant should not have been admitted in evidence. The error was deemed harmless however.

 

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THE PROCEDURE SUNY BUFFALO USED TO QUESTION PARTIES AND WITNESSES ABOUT ALLEGATIONS OF PETITONER-STUDENT’S SEXUAL MISCONDUCT (SUBMITTED WRITTEN QUESTIONS) VIOLATED THE SCHOOL’S TITLE IX POLICY (LIVE CROSS-EXAMINATION); THE SCHOOL’S DETERMINATION WAS ANNULLED AND THE RECORD WAS EXPUNGED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department, reversing the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) (respondent), held that the determination finding petitioner, a former student, violated the prohibition against sexual violence in the student code of conduct was arbitrary and capricious. The determination was annulled and the record expunged:

… [R]espondent departed from its own published rules and guidelines by adjudicating the alleged misconduct under the Code of Conduct rather than its Title IX Grievance Policy (Title IX Policy). Respondent’s Title IX Policy was established pursuant to 34 CFR 106.44 (b) (1), which requires as relevant here that respondent, in response to a formal complaint, follow a grievance process that complies with 34 CFR 106.45 if it seeks to impose disciplinary sanctions against someone accused of “sexual harassment,” a term that encompasses petitioner’s alleged misconduct … . Although respondent was permitted to dismiss the formal Title IX complaint against petitioner after his withdrawal from the university (see id. § 106.45 [b] [3] [ii]), respondent was nevertheless bound to apply the grievance procedure set forth in § 106.45 if it sought to impose a disciplinary sanction for the alleged misconduct … .

… [T]he questioning procedure provided at the Code of Conduct hearing substantially departed from the questioning procedure set forth in the Title IX Policy, and that the departure rendered respondent’s disciplinary determination arbitrary and capricious … . Respondent’s Title IX Policy, which codifies the regulatory requirements in 34 CFR 106.45 (b) (6) (i), entitles “[e]ach party’s advisor [to] conduct live cross-examination of the other party or parties and witnesses . . . in real time.” However, respondent made the disciplinary determination based on its Code of Conduct questioning procedure, which prohibits live cross-examination and instead limits the parties to submitting written questions to hearing officers in advance of the hearing. “Inasmuch as the United States Supreme Court has recognized that the right to ask questions of an accuser or witness is a significant and critical right” … , and inasmuch as the application of the procedure set forth in the Code of Conduct significantly impeded that right as outlined in the Title IX Policy, we conclude that respondent failed to substantially adhere to its own published rules and guidelines. Matter of Doe 1 v State Univ. of N.Y. at Buffalo, 2023 NY Slip Op 04838, Fourth Dept 9-29-23

Practice Point: SUNY Buffalo’s Title IX policy required live cross-examination of parties and witnesses in a sexual harassment investigation. The school followed its code of conduct which limits the questioning to written questions submitted to the hearing officers. The Title IX policy should have been followed. The determination was annulled and the record was expunged.

 

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PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S COUNSEL IN THIS SLIP AND FALL CASE DID NOT SEEK LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION FOR FIVE YEARS AFTER PLAINTIFF’S DECEDENT’S DEATH; THE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED PURSUANT TO CPLR 1021 (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the slip and fall action should have been dismissed. The slip and fall occurred in 2013. The plaintiff died in 2015.and the letters of administration were issued in 2021. Plaintiff’s attorney’s failure to move for substitution of a representative within a reasonable time warranted dismissal:

CPLR 1021 provides as follows: “A motion for substitution may be made by the successors or representatives of a party or by any party . . . . If the event requiring substitution occurs before final judgment and substitution is not made within a reasonable time, the action may be dismissed as to the party for whom substitution should have been made, however, such dismissal shall not be on the merits unless the court shall so indicate . . . . [I]f the event requiring substitution is the death of a party, and timely substitution has not been made, the court, before proceeding further, shall, on such notice as it may in its discretion direct, order the persons interested in the decedent’s estate to show cause why the action or appeal should not be dismissed” (emphasis added).

In determining reasonableness, a court should consider the plaintiff’s diligence in seeking substitution, prejudice to the other parties, and whether the action is shown to have potential merit … . Here, the unexplained, more than five-year delay in seeking letters of administration shows a lack of diligence … . Further, no demonstration of a potentially meritorious cause of action was made. Neither the attorney affirmation, complaint, bill of particulars, nor supplemental bill of particulars constituted an affidavit of merit, as counsel had no personal knowledge of the facts of this case … . Since an affidavit of merit was not submitted and no reasonable justification for the delay in petitioning for letters of administration was provided, the Supreme Court should have granted that branch of Nargis’s motion which was pursuant to CPLR 1021 to dismiss the complaint insofar as asserted against it … . Mesniankina v 302 BBA, LLC2023 NY Slip Op 04765, Second Dept 9-27-23

Practice Point: If your client dies and you wait five years before substituting an administrator for the decedent, you risk dismissal pursuant to CPLR 1021.

 

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